Tuesday, 22 January

07:21

Central Island province in the Solomon Islands has blocked new
logging and mining operations in an apparent attempt to halt the
degradation of the archipelagos sensitive ecosystems. With timber
on the islands harvested at a hugely unsustainable rate, this is an
important first step, the London-based watchdog organization Global
Witness tweeted on Jan. 14. Timber accounts for nearly one-third of
the Solomon Islands exports, according to a 2013 study by the World
Bank. In October 2018, Global Witness reported that companies were
cutting down the countrys trees at a rate that was 19 times what
could be considered sustainable. An aerial view of the Solomon
Islands. Image by Jim Lounsbury (Copyrighted free use) via
Wikimedia Commons. The organization also found that more than
12,600 kilometers (7,800 miles) of logging roads snake through the
countrys land area. Central Island province, also called Central
Islands or just Central province, is home to Tulagi, the colonial
capital of the Solomon Islands, a group of islands stretching east
of Papua New Guinea across 1.34 million square kilometers (520,000
square miles) of the South Pacific. Central Island province is home
to megapodes, or brush turkeys, like the Melanesian megapode
(Megapodius eremita) pictured here. Image by Joseph Smit (Public
domain). The national government holds the power to permit logging
in the country, Patrick Vasuni, the provinces caretaker premier,
told ABC Radio Australia. (Vasuni is officially a caretaker until
the upcoming elections, expected in 2020.) But companies must
also obtain business licenses from provincial governments before
they

00:30

Parts of Australia are enduring extreme heatwave conditions
which already broke numerous all-time temperature records. An
unusual extended period of heatwaves over much of Australia began
in early December 2018 and continued into January 2019. The
Australian mean......
Read more

22:47

Last month Chinese students at Columbia University in New York
City were targeted by
racist vandals who ripped the name tags bearing their Chinese
names off dorm doors. So they made a video about what their Chinese
name means to them. They explain how it went viral. Filmed by Max
Toomey and edited by Joshua Lim.

The stoking of anti-Chinese xenophobia over the past two years
was invoked to justify the passage of draconian foreign
interference laws by the federal Coalition government and the Labor
Party opposition last June.

The legislation potentially criminalises
internationally-coordinated political activity. Its passage
followed unsubstantiated claims from the media and political
establishment that the activities of Chinese businessmen, students
and community organisations were part of a sinister plot hatched in
Beijing. Australian politicians and corporate figures with
interests in China have similarly been accused of advancing the
interests of the Chinese regime.

The article in the Australian indicates that having
secured the passage of the foreign interference laws, sections of
the ruling elite are anxious for them to be tested out.

Shocking stories of police brutally, misconduct and malicious
prosecution revealed over the past 48 hours show the need for
immediate action to hold Victoria police to account.

Lawyers and advocates will hold a press conference to demand the
Andrews Government take action to reform the police complaint
system and implement the IBAC Committees recommendations without
delay.

In 2018, Victorian Parliaments IBAC Committee recommended
sweeping reform of the police complaint system following its
inquiry into the external oversight of police corruption and
misconduct in Victoria.

Media stories that continue to emerge reveal deep systemic
problems within Victoria police and show that police cannot be
trusted to investigate themselves for misconduct. Independent
investigations will enhance both police and public safety.

To date media reports have revealed:

A young Aboriginal man beaten, arrested and wrongfully
charged,

A Geelong man who was brutally assaulted while in police
custody,

A female doctor who was punched in the head and had her leg
broken when she tried to help a homeless person who was being
targeted by police.

Too often when police investigate police they find their
colleagues have done nothing wrong, creating a culture of impunity.
Victorians should be able to feel safe in their interactions with
police.

20:20

Ahead of a Dundee University
talk, Michael Alexander discovers
how improving oral health habits is helping to rehabilitate
prisoners at Perth.

Tackling the causes of the causes of health
inequalities associated with social deprivation in Scotland is the
key to solving some of the countrys most pressing public health
problems.

That is the view of Professor Ruth Freeman from
Dundee Universitys School of Dentistry who said a health coaching
initiative developed in Tayside has led to a significant shift in
the behaviour and wellbeing of prisoners at Perth Prison.

The team from the universitys Dental Health
Services Research Unit (DHSRU) within the School of Dentistry,
developed the People in Prison, Health Coaching for Scotland
(PeP-SCOT) programme to provide health coaching training for
inmates.

19:46

I note you are an Aboriginal person and you may be vulnerable
because of your age and appearance, this being your first time in
custody, Magistrate Klestadt said. No-one was there last week to
note the vulnerability of the young Israeli woman he is alleged to
have murdered. Investigators asked...

Does PPIPA deliver the goods? After 21 years, I tend to
wonder: do the good people of NSW actually enjoy a greater degree
of privacy protection than, say, their cousins in WA who by
contrast have no equivalent privacy law covering their state
government agencies, local councils or public universities?

I have reason to doubt it. Several reasons, in fact.
There are the problems with disturbing loopholes in the
legislation, which I have
written about before; details like the fact that the maximum
compensation payable to a person who has suffered significant harm
is set
too low and hasnt been increased in 21 years; and the continued
under-resourcing of the NSW Privacy Commissioners office.

But today I am more concerned about a really fundamental
question. Given PPIPA is recognised has having both a
beneficial and a normative
purpose in other words, the legislation as drafted was intended to
set
new standards across the public sector, to the benefit of
individuals privacy is it working?

Agencies not embracing Privacy by Design

For years, advocates of the idea of Privacy by Design have
asserted that it is better to
design privacy in from the start, and to have pro-privacy
settings as the default, than to try and retro-fit a system
later.

The on-going Opal Card system design is the perfect illustration
of the wisdom of that theory. Over some years, privacy
advocate Nigel Waters argued that the collection of data about his
travel history his physical movements was in breach of the
collection limitation principle (known in other jurisdictions
as data minimisation), IPP 1, because knowing information about his
movements as a passenger was not reaso...

18:03

Six people have been charged after Australian authorities
uncovered a multi-million-dollar crime syndicate stealing baby
formula and vitamins from major retailers across Sydney for
shipment to China, police said Monday.

Four members of one family and two other men have been arrested
and charged over the organised criminal group that New South Wales
Police believe has operated for several years.

Were thinking this is quite an expansive criminal group that was
exploiting an overseas market at the disadvantage of the Australian
public, NSW Police Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty told
reporters in Sydney.

Premium baby milk
formula, vitamins and honey from Australia are highly sought after
in Ch...

17:25

One of our New Years Resolutions is to encourage the progressive
and radical movements on the Australian continent to get better at
digital privacy and security essentially putting less of ourselves
out into the interwebs for our opposition for free.

Government and private companies collect data on activists this
has been demonstrated many times over the years. Activists working
against fossil fuels are an example of people that have been
targeted innocuous peaceful activities have been reported on by
expensive
contractors, we have been
spied on, had groups infiltrated by police and
corporate spies. In the UK, long term undercover policing
resulted in women having
long term relationships and even children with police spies.
Whilst we are not aware of such extreme cases in Australia, it is
not something to take lightly, but its also not something that
should stop us from acting for social and environmental
justice.

The most successfully disruptive aspect of surveillance is
encouraging paranoia and making life hard for activists, so dont
let em stop you you can be the proud owner of an ASIO file along
with so many other awesome folk. Guaranteed every high profile
activist you have looked up to was probably monitored by the
government!

So lets get the new year off to some good security habits. Here
is a quick rundown of some tools that will assist your
communications to be more secure. The catch nothing is fool proof,
but getting into good habits, makes for a healthier group
culture.

What is security
culture simply a set of practices that limits the ability for
government or opponents to find out more information about you and
interfere with or monitor your group. Weve given you some tools to
minimise this.

16:39

I don't see how Ms Faehrmann can continue in her job as a NSW
Legislator after so stridently and publicly admitting to breaking
the law - without saying when and where she did it. Her attempt to
avoid the specific questions do her no credit - she comes across
as...

15:50

RISE: Refugees, Survivors and eX-detainees the FIRST
self-determined advocacy and welfare organisation in Australia run
by Refugees for Refugees makes a public call for a boycott of
Australia Day, for the seventh year in a row.

We eX-detainees, Asylum Seekers and Refugees from RISE condemn
any group or individual who claims to be pro-refugee but celebrates
Australia Day on the 26th of January 2019. Instead, RISE encourages
all Refugees, eX-detainees, Asylum Seekers and allies to support
First Nations peoples in their actions against Australia Day.

RISE represents over 30 refugee community groups in Australia
and is the first (and one of the few) self-determined, registered,
non-profit refugee organisations in Australia governed and managed
by eX-detainees, Asylum Seekers and Refugees. As eX-detainees,
Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Australia, we acknowledge that the
land we seek protection on is the land of Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander Peoples whose sovereignty was never ceded. Always
was, always will be Aboriginal land.

We believe the systemic abuse of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander peoples is a result of over 200 years of discrimination as
part of the white colonial genocide strategy that continues to this
day and this template is now being used against our own refugee
communities. How can we dismantle the white Australian governments
refugee torture camps built within and outside its colonial borders
without addressing the root cause of this criminal abuse?

RISE fully supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
peoples sovereignty and self-determination and stands in solidarity
with them every day in our commitment to fighting for justice on
this land on their terms.

Nationwide actions are being organised by Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Activists. Below are the list of actions
happening around Australia:

15:39

Sam Maiden has the story - the electors in Curtin have the
challenge. It is my intention to run: Julie Bishop wont quit | The
New Daily https://t.co/1RdXAHf8UW (@samanthamaiden) January 21,
2019 Here's the former minister for foreign affairs in yacht racing
attire.

15:25

The unprecedented Baaka/Darling River fish kill which
claimed more than one million fish earlier this month including
countless giant Murray Cod estimated to be decades old was caused
by mismanagement of the Menindee Lakes system, with drought playing
only a minor part, according to one of the nations top research
think-tanks.

On January 7, the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI)
confirmed more than a million fish had died in a small stretch of
the Lower Darling region, around the Menindee Lakes system. DPI
blamed the ongoing drought, and a cold snap which killed toxic
blue-green algae. DPI says a massive bacterial bloom feeding on the
algae caused oxygen levels in the water to drop, leading to the
fish kill.

But according to a report produced by The Australian Institute a
Canberra-based research organisation the fish kill simply came down
to poor water management by the NSW Government, with the lakes
system drained twice in recent years, while inflows to the system
were inadequate.

Key findings of the report

Maryanne Slattery, a Senior Water Researcher at The Australia
Institute (TAI) argues that the Menindee Lakes were drained in
2016-17 at a time when downstream areas did not need water.

South Australia was experiencing flooding and all Murray
irrigation demand was met, The TAI writes.

The Lakes were drained by the Murray Darling Basin Authority
(MDBA), which is directed by the state governments.

The water level in the Lakes is not being replenished by regular
smaller flows. While large floods still reach Menindee, regular
small-medium flows have decreased dramatically.

A graph included in the report reveals that the Menindee Lakes
system has only been emptied twice in recent decades once in 2003,
at the height of the Millennium drought, and then again in 2013-14,
after the formation of the Murray Darling Basin Authority, which
was formed to better manage water flows.

Ms Slattery said that her research revealed irrigation
development in the north of the Murray Darling basin which
stretches as far as central Queensland played a key role in
reducing these smaller, regular flows, along with drought and
climate change.

It is clear what has caused the Darling River fish kill
mismanagement and repeated policy failure, Ms Slattery said in a
written statement.

To blame the fish kill...

15:19

Completely different angle. I'm sorry for judging this kid.
pic.twitter.com/1WXz2s2Nhw Sandy (@RightGlockMom) January 20, 2019
Julie Borowski 10 hrs Yes, on first glance, the picture of the MAGA
hat wearing high schooler and the Native American elder looks
terrible. The teenager looks smug and disrespectful. But after
viewing...

Going On-Country is expected to have many benefits for the
physical, social, emotional and cultural wellbeing of Aboriginal
people living in remote areas. Whilst there is evidence that Caring
for Country programs can improve Aboriginal health, there has been
little consideration for the potential benefits of self-initiated
activities when On-Country. This research was therefore aimed at
finding out if self-initiated On-Country activities are an
important source of health benefit for the Anindilyakwa people of
Groote Eylandt.

Whilst there are several barriers to going On-Country, the study
suggests it is an important source for improving health. In
particular, the evidence shows that collecting traditional foods is
a culturally inclusive activity that is self-initiated and commonly
performed On-Country, which in turn can have several health
benefits.

...

15:05

Phillipa McGuinness, The Year Everything Changed: 2001 (2018)
Phillipa McGuinness reminds us in her preface to
The Year Everything Changed that in 1988, the
bicentenary of James Cooks visit to Australias east coast, a number
of substantial books called slice histories were published:
Continue reading

14:44

This year I send Che, my firstborn, into his final year of
Primary School. Im in total dismay that all those years have passed
by.

I vividly remember the lead up to his first day; I would get
teary every time we drove past the school gate. I was comforted by
the fact that he was ready eager to learn and make new friends but
my mother grief was strong.

The first week was a whirlwind of tears (mine, not his), school
notes, exhaustion and new faces. The anticipation had subsided and
was promptly replaced with the stark reality of the school routine;
an unrelenting and tiring one that would take me months to get used
to.

In retrospect I was grieving the loss of those languid,
spontaneous pre-school days and simultaneously attempting to accept
that this was our new normal; for me and for every sibling after
him.

I felt like his first five years went fast but the years that
have followed have been a wild, speedy ride. How on earth were
here, on the other end of Primary School, baffles me. But weve both
learnt a lot and as a parent I have much more faith in the public
school system than I did back then. A few things Ive gleaned along
the way:

Building a rapport with your childs teacher is one of the most
important things you can do as a parent. Keeping the line of
communication open builds a respectful relationship and fostering
it throughout the year ensures that any issues that arise can be
dealt with quickly and, hopefully, effectively. That said, there
will be some teachers that you, or your child, may not get along
with and in these instances Ive always reminded myself that this is
real life; were not all going to get along but we can be kind.

Do whats sustainable for your whole family. Kindergarten,
especially, requires a lot of parents physically and emotionally.
We want to ease our children into each new stage of school hence we
feel like we need to volunteer and be present at every single
event. Truth is, you dont. And in most cases, you cant. Because if
youre working and/or juggling younger children, its incredibly
difficult to volunteer amidst the babys nap, work calls and
day-to-day errands. Do what you can and only whats best for the
whole family.
Class/grade Facebook groups are a fabulous resource for parents to
keep up to date with school reminders and events. Theyre also a
giant comfort for those of us that think were the only ones
forgetting important information, because you can guarantee that at
least once a week someone is asking: Is it sports uniform tomorrow?
Did anyone get the note about the fundraiser? What constitutes
crazy hair? and my personal favourite: So what exactly IS the
homework this week?

Most importantly Id tell you to scrap the homework for an
afternoon at the beach, recognise the value...

It was 48.9C last Tuesday in Port Augusta, South
Australia, an old harbour city that now harvests solar power.
Michelle Coles, the owner of the local cinema, took off her shoes
at night to test the concrete before letting the dogs out. People
tend to stay at home, she said. They dont walk around when its like
this.Its easy to see why: in the middle of the day it takes seconds
to blister a dogs paw or childs foot. In Mildura, in northern
Victoria, last week gardeners burned their hands when they picked
up their tools, which had been left in the sun at
46C. Fish
were ...

14:23

Extreme bushfire conditions in Australia are
becoming worse, fires are burning in areas that should never burn
at times when there should not be fire, former Fire and Rescue NSW
commissioner Greg Mullins says to describe our now unpredictable
fire seasons.. (subscribers only)

13:49

The Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network (AFTINET) is a
network of community groups and individuals that campaigns for fair
trade based on human rights, labour rights and environmental
sustainability (see www.aftinet.org.au).

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced graduate
passionate about global justice. The position is for 28 hours per
week, on a fixed-term contract, with ongoing employment dependent
on funding. Remuneration including leave loading is $42.22 per
hour, plus 9.5% superannuation.

The focus of the campaigns is the social impact of trade
agreements, including bilateral agreements, regional agreements
like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP-11) and the Regional
Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and World Trade
Organisation agreements.

JOB DESCRIPTION

The trade justice analyst/campaigner reports to the Convener and
the management committee. Key tasks of the role include to:

assist with analysis of the text of trade agreements for
submissions to DFAT and to parliamentary inquiries.

circulate draft submissions to members, incorporating
feedback

attend meetings with DFAT negotiators

organise meetings with politicians when required

organise public events

speak at public meetings and meetings with member organisations
when required

12:15

[ Thursday, 24 Jan; 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm. ] Commemorate the first
anniversary of the Save UNE Habitat Trees campaign achieving the
temporary stopping of the chopping. Please bring your friends and
join us for a picnic lunch near one of these rare, precious and
beautiful trees still standing - one that is still designated for
destruction! Thursday 1-2pm 24th January Manna Gum, near Mary White
College [...] full article

11:51

A former police worker has been sentenced to a minimum of two
years behind bars after she pleaded guilty to falsely accusing her
ex-partner of sexual assault. 28-year old Sarah-Jane Parkinson
entered pleas in November last year to two counts of making a false
accusation to police and two of public mischief, after claiming
to

11:40

National Rugby League (NRL) player Paul Carter has strenuously
denied allegations that he leaked intimate images of former Sydney
Roosters teammate Dylan Napa as part of an extortion campaign. It
has been reported that Mr Napa and his lawyers met with the NRL
Integrity Unit to discuss information that Carter received threats
by way of

11:28

Sign
the PETITION to the Senate against damaging clauses in the
proposed RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) and in
favour of enforceable workers' rights and environmental
standards.

The RCEP is a massive trade deal being negotiated in secret
between Australia, New Zealand, China, India, South Korea, Japan
and the ten member countries of ASEAN (Association of South East
Asian Nations). The proposed RCEP would cover half the world's
population.

In the lead up to the 2019 Federal Election, we need to tell all
political parties not to agree to damaging clauses in the
negotiations.

10:13

In case youve missed any of them, heres a rundown of the past
weeks articles: Renewed Calls for Wage Theft to be Criminalised
Revelations that the ABC underpaid up to 2,500 casual staff over 6
years has led to fresh calls for wage theft to be criminalised.
Click here to read the article Man Acquitted

09:13

Every eye in the room turns toward me: the outsider
lurking in the entrance.

Standing in this doorway, looking out over a tightly
packed room of musicians and appreciators, I realise how much Ive
been taught to be overly modest and not share my talents unless in
the exact right time and place.

Most pubs I frequent here are home to the iconic
Irish music scene a small band of musicians playing in the corner,
predominantly drowned out by the chatter, but being appreciated by
those listening in.

Ive made a close friend Caoimhe (Queevah);
shes one of these musicians. Being Australian, Im expecting the
classic modest downplaying of talents, so her response to the What
do you play? question is unexpected and refreshing:

Mostly guitar and fiddle, and Ill sing a few tunes
and play tin whistle if the whistle player cant make it, and if
theyve got a spare bodhrn, Ill take my turn on that.

No unnecessary modesty or beating round the bush
simply an awareness of the skill she has. Its an attitude of
unashamedly sharing that delights me.

County Tipperary is the quintessential image of
Irish countryside rolling green hills, quaint houses dotted along
the winding roads and friendly locals who greet you with an accent
almost too thick to understand. Id been told about this night by
Caoimhe the first day we met, and now, here I am: engrossed by the
most marvelous melodies floating through the room.

The place is called Jim O the Mills; its Jims home
an old millers house situated somewhere along a long country road
lined with hedges and lacking anything resembling a streetlight.
Jim opens up his house once a week; the crowd is predominantly
local regulars, all greeting each other with warm hugs and smiles
upon arrival.

Jims wife had been buttering pieces of home-cooked
brown bread, which we had stopped to help with whilst having good
catch-up yarn. This was currently being passed around the room with
a small slice of black pudding atop each piece.

Theres an easy 50 people packed into Jims converted
living room the rickety stools face the front, where a row of
musicians sit before the open hearth. They morph from one folk tune
to another, following suit from whoever knows the tune best.

The mu...

09:13

Photos by Stuart Bucknell, full album on our Facebook page
Timber and Steel loves a good festival, and Woodford is no
exception. The premiere Folk Festival is forever growing and
developing to highlight and showcase both the beauty of the natural
surrounds, and a diverse array of musical greats and emerging
artists. The beauty of []

08:50

Hundreds of immigration detainees in detention centres across
the country have begun a hunger strike protest this morning, Monday
21 January.

Detainees in the Villawood, Brisbane Immigration Transit
Accommodation (BITA) and Melbourne Immigration Transit
Accommodation (MITA) detention centres began their protest this
morning, joining the detainees at Yongah Hill in Western Australia
who are into the eighth day of protest.

The national protest comes as more video footage from MITA
revealing brutality and intimidation at the hands of Serco
guards.

The unaccountable use of force, arbitrary punishment, and the
use of handcuffs (detainees are even handcuffed to hospital beds)
rank among the major concerns of the detainees alongside the
deliberate placement of detainees away from their families and the
indefinite detention powers of the Minister to over-ride court and
Tribunal appeal decisions.

An independent review of immigration detention is urgently
necessary. The Minister of Home Affairs and the Minister for
Immigration preside over a system within a system without checks
and balances. Natural justice is suspended behind the fences of the
detention centres; Ministers and guards are a law unto themselves,
said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action
Coalition.

There is no justification for holding these people in detention.
It is a product of mandatory detention and draconian powers handed
to the Minister to cancel visas. People are being held in detention
for periods longer than the sentence imposed on them by the
courts.

08:36

The sudden appearance of a mountain of blue green algae poisoned
dead fish at Menindee in the north west New South Wales part of the
Darling, has brought to public attention yet again, the fact that
Australias biggest water system is very sick.

Menindee: "It's not drought, unfortunately it is man-made. And I
think someone needs to stand up and take accountability for what's
happened. We've spoken to a lot of locals already today, and we've
seen them crying" Tolarno Station farmer Kate McBride. "The
Menindee lakes is like a nursery for these fishthey stock the
Murray (River) as well." Tonight on 7 News at 6pm, the NSW Minister
for Regional Water Niall Blair MLC speaks to us after his tour of
the Darling River. www.7plus.com.au/news #Menindee #DarlingRiver
#7News

This is not a new problem. We have known for years, that way too
much water is being pumped out. The problem has been
continuous mismanagement. There have been other warnings, like the
previous
blue-green algae blooms and the
drying up of the mouth near Adelaide in South Australia.

...

06:00

Lawyers, advocates and victims of police abuse are again calling
on the Andrews Government to take action and introduce an
independent body to investigate police misconduct, as horrific new
cases of police brutality come to light.

In April 2016 Tommy Lovett was set upon by plainclothes
detectives from Darebin Police. He was seriously assaulted,
capsicum sprayed and ultimately hospitalised for his injuries.
Police were looking for a suspect described as an Aboriginal male,
aged in his 40s with a goatee and red hat. At the time Tommy was
18, wearing a black hat and riding a scooter on the way to visit
his grandmother.

He was subsequently charged by police with resisting arrest,
however the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service had those charges
withdrawn when statements from uniformed officers at the scene
surfaced, including from one officer who wrote: I did not
understand why I was being directed to arrest this male as he didnt
match description.

Wayne Muir, CEO of the Victorian Aboriginal
Legal Service, said until there is a proper independent police
complaints system we will continue to see these injustices against
Aboriginal people.

This shocking case highlights the failings of a system where
police investigate police. A perfectly innocent 18-year-old
Aboriginal boy brutally beaten by police. This boy is no longer the
same. He is still recovering from this traumatic event years later,
and that is the fault of the police who did this.

Why shouldnt the police who did this be criminally charged for
their actions? The current system is utterly ineffective and raises
serious questions of bias with police investigating their own. This
will keep on happening until there is real independence and
accountability.

In 2018, Victorian Parliaments IBAC Committee recommended
sweeping reform of the police complaint system following its
inquiry into the external oversight of police corruption and
misconduct in Victoria.

Jeremy King, Principal Lawyer at Robinson Gill
Lawyers, who acts on behalf of Tommy, said the Andrews Government
must reform the police complaint system and implement the IBAC
Committees recommendations without delay.

Tommy Lovetts case is yet another example of unchecked police
misconduct. Police members described their colleagues treatment of
Tommy as notnecessary and disturbing, yet the perpetrating members
have faced no known consequences for their actions. Victoria needs
an independent body to hold police accountable. Police should not
be allowed to act with impunity.

Ruth Barson, Director of Legal Advocacy with
the Human Rights Law Centre, said that the current system is broken
and the ball is squarely in Premier Andrews court to fix it.

...

05:44

Macedonia protesters clashed with riot police outside the Greek
Parliament on Sunday during the big rally against the Prespes
Agreement. Armed with sticks a group of men tried to break the
police cordon and enter the Parliament building in downtown
Athens.

The reaction by riot police was prompt with extensive use of
tear gas to disperse the crowd.

The office of Prime Minister accused members of Golden Dawn of
trying to force their way into Parliament and beating police
officers with clubs. A total of 25 police officers were
injured.

Thousands of people had arrived in Athens from across Greece to
participate in the big rally against the Prespes deal. Among the
participants were also diaspora Greeks from far away Australia and
the US.

00:25

This timelapse video tells a remarkable story about the March
for Life held in Washington DC over the weekend. And this
magnificent speech from Ben Shapiro should give us all a very good
reason to sit and ponder the wonder and pricelessness of humanity.
I am in awe of Shapiro's...

Sunday, 20 January

23:54

This video was recorded in Hidalgo, Mexico two days ago - a
gasoline pipeline ruptured and rather than avoid it, hundreds of
locals converged on the scene to knock off some free juice. As
night fell the inevitable happened - at least 73 are dead and a
similar number wounded....

23:53

The Palestinian Authority spends 6 times more on bonuses and
support payments to Jihadi terrorists and their families than it
does on its own needy. Each year, Australia sends $43M in taxpayer
funds to support the Palestinian cause. Our money frees up money
from the Palestinian Authority's budget - which...

22:35

Crypto exchange Coinspot has launched an
over-the-counter trading desk in Australia and youll find more
about the platform in this edition of The Daily. Elsewhere,
computing power-sharing platform Bitdeer.com is focusing on Eastern
Europe through a partnership with the largest digital asset trader
in the region, Exmo. And in the U.S., expired Mccoins will get you
a Big King.

Crypto Exchange Coinspot Offers OTC Services to
Australian Traders

Australian cryptocurrency exchange Coinspot has announced the launch of its dedicated
over-the-counter (OTC) trading desk. The platform will
be able to process high-volume transactions for its members without
the need to use the traditional public order books.

The idea behind the project is to solve problems of liquidity
for traders who want to deal in larger quantities. The company
believes the OTC desk will reduce their exposure to fluctuations on
the crypto markets. Lock-in pricing is expected to eliminate
slippage and minimize the risks associated with high-volume
trading.

...

22:06

CWP Renewables and Partners Group (a global private markets
investment management firm which is also the majority equity
investor in the Sapphire Wind Farm) seek to share the benefits of
what is now a wind, solar (more details below) and battery project
with the local communities which hosts the project. CWP and
Partners Group are pleased [...] full article

22:00

[ Monday, 18 Mar to Sunday, 24 Mar. ] Grounded Gathering is back
for it's 4th edition. This time we will gather in Ngarabal country,
just outside of Deepwater (NSW). Our annual Gathering is split in
to two parts. The first is a five-day, hands-on, workshop program
for a small group of participants (we call them 'sprouts') ready to
invest in their future through practical [...] full article

21:51

The Independent Planning Commission has postponed a preliminary
hearing on a coal mine project in the states northwest due to
unprecedented community interest. A last-minute surge in
registrations has resulted in a record number of speakers for the
preliminary stage of the multi-stage public hearing. Eighty-three
people had been registered by the Commission to have their say
[...] full article

20:02

Union News Australia is "A place for Unionists, Activists and
the general rank and file to post, debate and read the very latest
in Union news." And this is the "very latest in Union news". UPDATE
I don't know whether Doug Cameron or Sally McManus decided to
"associate" themselves with...

I first wrote this article and published it on this, my personal
blog-site, on 1 November 2015. There has been quite a lot of
interest in it since Joel ABell head pastor of Hillsong Australia
announced he is leaving Hillsong.

Joel ABell announced on Twitter on 28 November last year that
Joel and his wife Julia are leaving Hillsong.

19:08

My report and analysis for global broadcaster
TRT World on the upcoming Israeli election:

JerusalemDuring a recent conference organised
by Women in Green, a Zionist, pro-settler group dedicated to
applying Israeli sovereignty across the entire, occupied West Bank,
Likud politician and Minister of Aliyah and Integration, Yoav
Galant, explained what his country had
to achieve.

From the hills of Samaria, I say clearly, No to a Palestinian
state, he argued. Its impossible to establish more than one state
west of the Jordan. This is the place of the Jewish, Zionist and
democratic State of Israel.

Other senior politicians at the event agreed including Deputy
Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely, Deputy Minister for Diplomacy (and
former Israeli ambassador to the United States) Michael Oren and
Welfare Minister Chaim Katz.

Israels general election in April sets the scene for ferocious
months of campaigning and yet all the major Israeli political
parties agree on one thing; no end to the more than 50 years of occupying
Palestinian territory in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and
Gaza.

The ruling Likud party, led by Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu, voted in a non-binding resolution in
late 2017 to apply sovereignty over the West Bank, rendering
millions of Palestinians second-class citizens in perpetuity.

The resolution barely caused a ripple because its become an
increasingly mainstream view across the Israeli, Jewish public.

Netanyahu is embroiled in countless corruption scandals, mainly
revolving around the alleged receiving of favours and gifts from
wealthy patrons and friends. The Times of
Israel asked in late 2018: Is Israel
about to re-elect a corrupt prime minister?

Netanyahu remains a popu...

19:00

On the first day of the year in Nauru, Iranian refugee Bita*
sent a damning letter to the Australian Border Force (ABF) accusing
it of barbarism. She had been refused resettlement in the United
States and demanded an end to being held indefinitely on the
Pacific island.

Im fed up and Im not going to beg for settlement in Australia or
reunion with my brother [in Australia] any more, she wrote to the
ABF. Please let me know when would you let me seek asylum in
another country which cares about humanitarian [sic].

The ABF is the government agency responsible for onshore and
offshore border control.

Bita, a 30-year-old woman from an Arab minority in Iran, asked
the agency why it refused to treat her depression, anxiety attacks,
hand pains and sciatica. Was this a way of abusing her, she
wondered? If so, please let me know when you are planning to stop
harming and punishing me, she wrote.

Bita has sent a stream of increasingly anguished correspondence
to the ABF for years, pleading for intervention. Medical
specialists on Nauru have acknowledged her long mental decline.
There is very little life in her, one International Health and
Medical Services (IHMS) counsellor reported.

Bita was transferred to Nauru in 2014 after fleeing Iran due to
state and family violence and travelling by boat from Indonesia to
Australia. After more than five years in detention she lives
without hope of immediate resettlement.

Testimonies of refugee women on Nauru show an acute situation of
untreated illnesses, sexual abuse and degradation.

To what scripture have you taken oath, that I was bleeding from
a dog attack, yet like a bloodthirsty monster you were smelling my
blood? wrote Iranian refugee Sahar* to IHMS this year. You kept
telling me my wounds were not serious Your oath is to the devil,
not to God.

In 2017 Sahar was attacked by a dog in a Nauruan detention camp.
After being bitten, her anxiety wors...

18:44

I cough and gag one final time, elbows leaning on
the porcelain with my hands folded into the bowl. My eyes burn as
the tears slide down my face, mingling with the foul remnants
surrounding my mouth. My stomach feels as though someone has wrung
me out from the middle and the back of my throat burns from the
acid forcing its way unnaturally upwards.

I feel like every single drop of energy has been
sucked out of me and I wonder how Im supposed to stand to flush.
Tiny black pinpricks are dotting my tear-blurred vision as I sit
here hunched over the bowl. I feel completely empty. An emptiness
that extends beyond the hollowness of my stomach and settles as a
dull, lifeless ache in my chest. I am a failure.

Just as I begin to tell myself that this bullshit
routine isnt worth it, the voice in my head pipes up in a
sickly-sweet whisper: Thats one step closer to being good
enough.

I remember the way my boyfriend traced my flattened
stomach with his hands. Youre looking good, Han, hed said, with a
hint of pleasant surprise.

I remember the way Mum paused the cooking as I
strolled through the kitchen in gym tights and a sports bra, my
bare middle exposed, begging for attention. Youre looking fit,
darlin, she smiled fondly at me, unwavering kindness in her
eyes.

I remember the way my friend sized me up as I
squeezed into her size 8 denim overalls. Wow, you have lost weight!
she exclaimed, beaming as her wide eyes slide up and down, taking
in the shape of my new body.

Their praise sings through my head, playing on a
self-indulgent loop, sending pride buzzing through me. Suddenly
energised, I shove myself up from the bowl, flush, and set about
cleaning myself up. My resolve has been strengthened. The shame of
an inglorious vom is quickly overshadowed by the joy that swirls
through me.

One step closer.

Id always been uncomfortable receiving compliments,
but now I found myself confused by them. Here I was, in the midst
of an eating disorder and people were excitedly telling me how fit
I looked, how slim I was getting. Words drenched in positive
connotations seemed to jar with the abuse I was subjecting my body
to. But maybe they were right? According to the BMI scale, I was
actually progressing towards a healthier weight range. So why did I
feel so conflicted when these labels were attached to me?

On the outside, I was transforming into a thriving
and...

16:19

Shortly after Australia emerged from a big battle about the
legality of gay marriage, two Gentoo penguins, unaware of the
potential political controversy surrounding their relationship,
became a national symbol as they successfully brought a baby
penguin into the world together.

Not only did the unlikely pair hatch and raise a baby penguin
together, they did so far better than any other penguin pair in
their colony. Gentoo penguins Sphen and Magic are part of a
relatively young colony living in Australias Sydney Aquarium.

Parenting hasnt been the forte of most of the penguins in the
young colony of 33. Most of them, despite having laid eggs,
repeatedly found themselves too tempted by the desire to swim or
play that their neglected eggs never hatched. While this behavior
isnt unusual for inexperienced penguins, one pair stood out from
the crowd.

Not only were Sphen and Magic the
only gay pair in the colony, they were the only pair exhibiting
signs of being prepared for parenting. All signs pointed to the
pair being diligent and careful parents. In fact, they had already
build a nest together and were sitting on it constantly.

In response to this extraordinary
behavior, aquarium staff gave the couple a dummy egg. Sphen and
Magic took to it immediately, giving the staff all the proof they
needed to know these two were ready for the real thing. And so, the
next time a heterosexual couple appeared poised to neglecting yet
another egg, it was transferred to the care of Sphen and Magic.

An Unlikely Pair

Sphen, at 6-years-old, is elder of
the two and hails from SeaWorld. Hes a quiet and serious male, less
interested in playing with toys and humans than his counterparts.
Magic was born in captivity at the Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium. At
a playful 3-years-old, hes a regular aquarium star excitable and
playful and greets visitors as he plays.

The two make an unlikely pair, but aquarium staff and penguin
keepers cannot say what makes one penguin choose one mate over
another. Whatever it may be that brought Sphen and Magic together
is the real deal.

On a summer day at Sea Life Sydney Aquarium, the two met and, in
typical Gentoo form, the two began to bow to each other. Their
relationship progressed as they began to bring carefully selected
pebbles to each other, perfect for nest building. This act is a
form of consent. If one penguin were not interested in the other,
they would simply reject the pebbles by pushing them away with a
beak. Instead of rejected the pebbles, they admired them.

Before long, Sphen and Magic began to sing. The two
sang...

16:00

Less than a month after the September 11 terrorist attacks on
the United States, U.S. troopswith support from British, Canadian,
French, German and Australian forcesinvaded Afghanistan to fight Al
Qaeda and the Taliban. More than 17 years later, the Global War on
Terrorism initiated by President George W. Bush is truly global,
with Americans actively engaged in countering terrorism in 80
nations on six continents.

15:11

On 7 August 2018, a story broke*, that there had been a "lapse in
security" on a certain US website maintained by a team member of
the To The Stars Academy (TTSA). This "lapse" meant that a number
of images of documents relating to the Advanced Aerospace
Threat and Identification Program (AATIP) were publicly available
for a period of time. These documents included an interview with
one of the pilots (not Dave Fravor) involved in the 14 November
2004 USS Nimitz encounter; and a series of "briefing slides,"
concerning the AATIP.

Are they genuine?

How do we know these were genuine documents? Firstly, the website
they were on, was verified as belonging to a TTSA team member.
Secondly, the pilot's
interview had already appeared on the TTSA's own website; minus
the identifying names, phone numbers, emails etc of the crew
members of the three aircraft involved, which were shown in
the "lapse" documents. Thirdly, the "security lapse" was rapidly
fixed and the documents were removed from that website.

The purpose of this blog post is to take another look at the
"briefing slides" and their contents; and provide images of them
for others to debate and discuss.

Briefing slides

There were seven jpeg files, each labelled as
"aatip-brief-pdf-original," numbered 1-4 then 6-8. Missing is a
jpeg file number page 5. When opened the slides are numbered 1-4,
then 7-9. Slides numbered 5 and 6 are missing. The contents of the
slides are as follows:

The fruits of Frank, Brian and Joel Houston, the leaders of the
three generations of the extremely corrupt Hillsong Pentecostal
dynasty based in Sydney, Australia are the heretical Prosperity
Gospel, pedophilia, cover-ups of pedophilia, serial adultery,
acceptance of homosexuality and unrepentant homosexuals in their
midst, rampant deceptions and financial pillaging of the Blessed
Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, through out Australian, New
Zealand and all other the world, where they have established
churches in prominent cities.

These locations include London, New York City and Los Angeles,
where many celebrities and unrepentant gays attend their
churches.

11:52

Would you ever replace your beef or pork with bugs? They're good
for you and the environment - and can actually taste pretty good!
pic.twitter.com/5iSrlRWI7q News Breakfast (@BreakfastNews) January
18, 2019

11:47

10:44

1803 - Seems Charlie Grimes popped into Port Phillip (which wasn't
Port Phillip at the time but probably labouring under its own
moniker now long lost in the mists of time), cast his pithy baby
blues over the Mornington Peninsula and declared, "I am soooo not
redecorating this place!" before tattling to Gov King how he just
didn't do sandy soil for settlements.
The lack of fresh water may have had some bearing on it, too.
Best not let on to the swarms of tourists and residents of the
Mornington Peninsula that its unsuitable for settlement!

1803 - Louis Freycinet, in his ship Casuarina, sailing up the
larger of South Australia's two gulfs, was in the vicinity of what
is now called Moonta Bay.

1841 - Jorgen Jorgensen, The Convict King and claimant to the
throne of Denmark and Iceland, popped his clogs, as all men do, in
Hobart.

1842 - Tunnerminnerwait was Hanged at Melbourne for the murder of
two whalers at Cape Paterson.
1842 - Maulboyheenner was Hanged at Melbourne for the murder of two
whalers at Cape Paterson.
Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner were the first people to be
hanged by the Government in the District of Port Phillip and were
buried in an unmarked grave on the site of the now Queen Victoria
Market, where there have been numerous reports of sightings of
their ghosts.

1849 - The good ship...no,not Lollipop but Fortitude parked in
Lower Level 2 space 3a at Morton Bay QLD with its cargo of 245
immigrants from Britain for Rev John Dunmore Lang's Cooksland
cotton growing scheme. Its temporary headquarters were set up at
Fortitude Valley, named after the ship which brought them
there.

1854 - Fire destroyed a city block in Hobart, Tas.

1858 - The Wesleyan Chapel in Lydiard St , Ballarat, opened for
business.

1863 - James Whyte replaced T.D. Champman as Premier of
Tasmania.

1869 - Frederick Alexander, inventor of the Alexander
Technique which takes too long to explain here in 25 words or less,
was hatched in Tassie.

1880 - Andrew George Scott, better known as bushranger Captain
Moonlite, was hanged at Darlinghurst Gaol.

1880 - Thomas Rogan (Bushranger) A member of the Moonlite Gang, was
hanged at Darlinghurst Gaol for the murder of Constable Webb-Bowen
at Wantabadgery.

09:24

Ive had an epiphany, and its making me uncomfortable. At 53, Ive
reached peak stuff. And my backup plan for downsizing donating it
to charities has hit a hurdle. They dont want most of my stuff. It
all started with our holiday viewing of Tidying Up with Marie Kondo
on Netflix. The show []

07:58

I have been off on a too short weekend
trip to Sydney. That was last weekend and I am just catching up
here now. Holiday mode and a heat wave are my reasons for not
checking in sooner. Tim went back to work today after a month of
leave and Hope will be back at school at the end of the month. Then
it is back to routine. School has been a backbone of my routine
since 1999 so it will be strange next year not to have that as Hope
finishes school in October and she is my baby.

Darling Harbour

Anyway, onto the holiday. We had some great family time. Visiting
with our son and his love. Got to see their new flat all decked out
how they want it. Last time we saw it, it was a work site. Looks
good now.

Had a wonderful evening with my sister, brother in law and my two
nephews. They visited us last month so our turn this time. Darling
Harbour was the backdrop and it didn't disappoint. I would rather
it was less crowded but with the draw of fireworks, everyone wants
to be there.

05:30

Makeda brings an avant-garde sensibility to underground club
music with Me, First, the lead single off an upcoming EP which
explores the colonial histories of Australia and the UK

Melbourne-based musician, DJ and artist Makeda creates
imaginative dance music with a left-field sonic palette and an
implicit social commentary. Taking a holistic approach to her
artistic undertakings, Makeda brings an avant-garde sensibility to
underground club music. Her dedication to experimentation and
storytelling have seen her perform at Dark Mofo, Soft Centre, Vivid
and Next Wave alongside artists like Oscar Key Sung and Air Max
97.

Drawing on her familial connection to Londons Afro-Caribbean
community, Makedas indebtedness to jungle, breakbeat and bass music
is on display in Me, First, the murky first single off her upcoming
EP Lifetrap. At the same time, Lifetrap
represents an estrangement from that heritage. I was fascinated by
how I was connected to the community at the same time as feeling
really isolated from it. Im coming at it like an alien she says of
the project, and this sense of alienation comes through on Me,
First. The track, released on Melbourne label Nice Music,
deploys techno textures and a deep low end to maximum effect.

01:59

Fears rise for homeless and vulnerable people as communities
brace for another week of relentless hot weatherIt was 48.9C last
Tuesday in Port Augusta, South Australia, an old harbour city that
now harvests solar power. Michelle Coles, the owner of the local
cinema, took off her shoes at night to test the concrete before
letting the dogs out. People tend to stay at home, she said. They
don't walk around when it's like this.It's easy to see why: in the
middle of the day it takes [...]

Saturday, 19 January

23:03

An Aboriginal flag engulfs a large stone, twine securing it in
place, that lays beneath a fishing pontoon, at the bottom of the
sea. My cousin sunk it there on the day of my brothers funeral. We
scattered Waynes ashes off that pontoon, the place he use to fish
almost every day. I recall the significance of what my uncle
...

22:52

On Friday (18/1/19) I filed a Special Leave to Appeal
application with the High Court of Australia which re-agitates
unchallenged allegations of paedophile and bribe taking judges in
NSW. They are allegations that numerous judges of the NSW Supreme
Court worked to have suppressed for over 18 months and even while I
was in jail []

18:47

17:51

Take Me To Town, the 3CD, 47 track compilation of contemporary
Australian alt-country music is heading to Tamworth 2019, with a
very special showcase gig featuring an all-star line-up of Ben
Leece & Left Of The Dial, Katie Brianna, The Weeping Willows,
Hana & Jessie-Lee, Lachlan Bryan, Jen Mize and Mitch Power. If
you are Continue
reading

17:00

Here are the answers with discussion for this Weekends
Quiz. The information provided should help you work out
why you missed a question or three! If you havent already done the
Quiz from yesterday then have a go at it before you read the
answers. I hope this helps you develop an understanding of Modern
Monetary Theory (MMT) and its application to macroeconomic
thinking. Comments as usual welcome, especially if I have made an
error.

Question 1:

If economy-wide average nominal wages fail to keep pace with the
inflation rate then it means the profit share in GDP is rising.

The answer is False.

We also have to consider productivity movements.

The wage share in nominal GDP is expressed as the total wage
bill as a percentage of nominal GDP. Economists differentiate
between nominal GDP ($GDP), which is total output produced at
market prices and real GDP (GDP), which is the actual physical
equivalent of the nominal GDP. We will come back to that
distinction soon.

To compute the wage share we need to consider total labour costs
in production and the flow of production ($GDP) each period.

Employment (L) is a stock and is measured in persons (averaged
over some period like a month or a quarter or a year.

The wage bill is a flow and is the product of total employment
(L) and the average nominal wage (w) prevailing at any point in
time. Stocks (L) become flows if it is multiplied by a flow
variable (W). So the wage bill is the total labour costs in
production per period.

So the wage bill = W.L

The wage share is just the total labour costs expressed as a
proportion of $GDP (W.L)/$GDP in nominal terms, usually expressed
as a percentage. We can actually break this down further.

Labour productivity (LP) is the units of real GDP per person
employed per period. Using the symbols already defined this can be
written as:

LP = GDP/L

so it tells us what real output (GDP) each labour unit that is
added to production produces on average.

We can also define another term that is regularly used in the
media the real wage which is the purchasing power equivalent on the
nominal wage that workers get paid each period. To compute the real
wage we need to consider two variables: (a) the nominal wage (W)
and the aggregate price level (P).

We might consider the aggregate price level to be measured by
the consumer price index (CPI) although there are huge debates
about that.

Now the nominal wage (W) that is paid by employers to workers is
determined in the labour market ...

Human rights groups have
called on the Papua Police to immediately and
unconditionally drop the rebellion charge against three
activists from the West Papua National Committee
(KNPB) and release them.

Amnesty International and
Yayasan Pusaka issued a recent statement saying that the
activists "were prisoners of conscience" who had not
employed violence or hatred, and were imprisoned solely for
expressing their political views in a peaceful manner.

The Indonesian authorities have
used Article 106 of Indonesias Criminal Code, along with Article
110, to criminalize dozens of peaceful pro-independence political
activists with the charge of rebellion in the last
decade, said&nbs...

16:47

Rob McBride and Menindee resident, Dick Arnold stand in the
Darling river, holding Murray cod that have lived through decades
of droughts and floods, but could not survive this human-made
disaster. Image: Kate McBride NSW Primary Industries Minister Niall
Blair revealed the latest fish die-off has occurred at Lake Hume on
the NSW-Victorian border. The numbers of dead fish are much smaller
than at

15:48

With Microsoft's exit from the mobile phone industry, the general
population has literally now only two choices when it comes to
purchasing new phones, where even then their lifespan is
deliberately limited to 2 years, where you are 'forced' to update
your device in order to keep you a nice little subservient
corporate slave.

After all what good are you to a corporation if you only purchased
their product once?

It's easier to monitor/control the masses when they have less
choices.

You see it's an age old principle, dating back to the 'holy land'
where the inhabitants believed in many gods, where this was too
difficult to administer by the conquering empire, where
mono-theology was enacted on the peasants of the region, with zero
proof of course.

There's this man made (alleged) 'war' for example with America v
Russia, East v West, North v South (Korea for example) and maybe
even some God v some devil (that alleged God allowed to exist) to
keep the plebs occupied.

When it comes to consumerism, for the Aussies there's Coles v
Woolies, who knows how long the other supermarkets will survive,
there's the Labor v Liberal en-slavers, the alleged Ford v Holden
'war' (maybe at Bathurst) that never really existed just in the
minuscule mind of the Aussie bogan and now there's only two choices
of operating systems for new phones, either Google's Android or
Apples iOS.

After all, it's way easier to implement cracking solutions, e.g.
from Cellebrite for two platforms rather than half a dozen.

14:45

Parallel universes, again. The official record of Josef
Mengele is one thing; the on-the-ground sightings of him in the US
and Canada is another. I suppose it would be considered too
revealing of the CIAs business to come out and say that Mengele had
business to perform in the United States. His business was
mind-control.

That he was at Auschwitz during 1943 and 1944 seems to be
accepted. That he performed medical experiments on twins, using
especially Jews and Gypsies is not doubted. His misdeeds were
recounted at the Nuremberg Trials...

11:11

When reflecting on my time working in Indigenous affairs, my
good memories are often trumped with the bad. Like most young
Indigenous people in their early twenties, I believed that I could
change Australia and subsequently the world. I wanted to tell the
good stories, share the beautiful things about Indigenous culture
and shift the racist paradigm plaguing the nation. ...

10:08

1790 - The Second Fleet decided to play follow the leader with The
First Fleet and, dragging 1,006 convicts along for the ride, set
off on a Sunday sail from England.

1800 - John Washington Price, recently arrived on the ship Minerva,
observes that Pummil-woy (who frequents Sidney & Paramatta) is
known to say that no gun or pistol can kill him He has now lodged
in him, in shot, sluggs [sic] and bullets about eight or ten ounces
of lead, it is supposed he has killed over 30 of our people, but it
is doubtful on which side the provocation was given.

1835 - The "last remaining" Tassie Aborigines were rounded up and
put onto Flinders Island.
Apparently all those others in Tassie were figments of our
imaginations.

1846 - Charles Sturt's 18 month expedition to open up inland
Australia came to a crashing halt (coz the Simpson Desert and a
severe drought just wouldn't play ball), so he took his bat and
ball home to Adelaide.

1850 - Australian Philosophical Society (late the Royal Society of
NSW) was formed in Sydney.

1863 - The Main Western Railway Line (NSW) was flung open for
business from Kingswood to Penrith.

1869 - Ida Stanley, the first female school teacher in Alice
Springs who was loved by both Europeans and Aborigines, was
born.

1873 - Henry Burrell, known as The Platypus Man for his extensive
research and study of our shy monotreme, was hatched.

1877 - Hmph! They didn't ask my permission...Construction began on
the great hall and vestibule in the Victorian Parliament, costing
37,500 pounds.

1877 - Robert Kaleski, bushman and dog breeder who drew up the
breeding standards for the Blue Heeler, Kelpie and other Aussie
breeds, was pupped.

1886 - Australian wharf workers went back to work after an 18-day
strike over wages.

1887 - Dust off your travelling rug and pick up your gloves Aunt
Mildred...Victoria and South Australia were finally joined by rail
when they finished their tea break and completed a section of track
from Dimboola to Seviceton.

1887 - The railway line from North Creswick to Rocky Lead (Vic)
opened.

1897 - The Sunday Times was first published in Perth, WA

1900 - Sydney excitedly discovered its very first case of the
plague; in the following 8 months 103 people were carried off this
mortal coil from the disease.

1906 - William Kidston became the Premier of Queensland.

1907 A tropical cyclone hit Cooktown, Queensland, killing six.

1925 - The Molong -Dubbo Railway...

09:07

Possessing any object
specifically for the purpose of self-defence, lethal or non-lethal,
is a criminal offence in Australia!!! There are many women, raped
and/or murdered, who would have been liable to prosecution had they
been carrying anything that might have saved them.

07:58

The pond should start off by noting that it hasn't
taken long for the reptiles to get back into peak form, rather like
the Australian cricket team it's never too early in the year to get
the fear-mongering into gear, what with an election just around the
corner ...

A SPECIAL INVESTIGATION?
Wouldn't it be simpler to run a story, WHATEVER
YOU DO, DON"T VOTE FOR COMRADE BILL, THE SKY WILL FALL
DOWN

And as sure as there's a heatwave, the reptiles
will just as surely wheel out Bjorn, full of bland
reassurance

There were other sightings too, the dog botherer
was out and about and Helen of Dale was given a spot, but here's
the thing

The pond has decided it wants a dollar each time that 'leets are
mentioned, and two dollars when said perfidious 'leets cop a
caning, in a rag flung together in the heart of Sydney town

There was the dog botherer railing at the 'leets
at the end of his piece

07:00

You know when youre a kid and someone says to you, I
bet I can beat you to that tree! so you break into a sprint and run
like your life depends on it, just to prove them wrong? My
sprint towards proving my identity started well before I could tie
my shoelaces.

*

Look at us, a bunch of white girls living in Bali,
laughed the woman with her legs in the pool next to me. It was my
first day of a month-long writing retreat on the Indonesian island,
and a group of us were sitting around getting to know each
other.

It took me a moment to realise that, yes, to her I
did sit in that category of white girl.

I plunged in to a self-reflective state. Why did I
feel so irked by this comment? Something in the pit of my stomach
began to churn.

It was a harmless enough thing to say, but when
someone calls me white it reminds me of how I spent the better half
of my life trying to prove Im not.

What is a white girl anyway? Someone who is
Caucasian? Of European descent? Someone who lives by western
standards? I dont know the answer, but these are questions I ask
myself all the time.

My family and I are New Zealanders. My dad is Mori,
and my mum is of European heritage. I was raised in a khanga
reo, which is a preschool held in a Marae
(traditional house); I was taught Te Reo Mori (Mori
language) from the age of three. I then went to kura
kaupapa, a full-immersion Mori school, where we spoke Mori all
day. I learned maths in Mori, to read and write in Mori, all
our sports were done in Mori you get the gist, I was raised in Mori
culture. As far as I knew, I was as Mori as they get. Whats weird
is that I never felt I belonged to it.

I got my mothers genes. My skin is pale. My brothers
got my dads genes, and people are always so quick to point out the
difference. Finding my place in primary school was pretty shit. I
was constantly bullied for being white. Kids used to say to me, Go
to a normal school, this place isnt for you your people stole our
land! At the age of seven I didnt understand. How could my people,
steal your land? Arent we of the same people?

From here, I was hell-bent on proving people wrong.
At 13, I started high school and sat all three of my Mori exams in
just two years something most people take three years to achieve
and dont start until the age of 15.

03:03

Huobi is back in Japan, this time as a fully regulated exchange
under Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA).

Following its
merger with BitTrade, Huobi Japan Holding Ltd. is now among the
first batch of 17 to receive registration under the FSA and is able
to relaunch Huobi Japan.

Leon Li, Huobi Group founder and CEO, called the launch an
important milestone in a statement, adding that the Japanese market
remains important to the group and that working with its regulators
is a longstanding priority for Huobi Group.

Japan's financial regulator had directed all cryptocurrency
exchanges not registered as a licensed exchange with the agency to
cease operations in 2017.

Following
Coincheck's hack in January 2018, the FSA had ramped up
requirements for exchanges, with 160 applicants waiting in line for
approval as of October 2018. Unable to get approval, Huobi acquired
a majority stake in Japanese-licensed operator BitTrade, as it
prepared to stage a comeback into the market.

At the moment, Huobi Japan will offer trading of bitcoin,
ripple, ether, bitcoin cash, litecoin and monacoin, traded against
the Japanese Yen. The exchange is also offering zero-fee
transactions during the launch period.

Livio Weng, CEO of Huobi Global, told Bitcoin Magazine
that Huobi Japan would draw on the expertise of the group to
operate an exchange that offers better liquidity, with a strong
focus on the safety and security of customer's funds.

In addition to now offering our users a fully regulated and
compliant place to trade digital assets, Huobi Japan also brings
with it Huobi Groups half-decade of experience in cryptocurrency
and blockchain.

Currently ranked as the
sixth largest crypto exchange platform in the world, Huobi Group
was founded in China back in 2013. The company maintained its
headquarters in Singapore after the Chinese government initiated a
crackdown on domestic cryptocurrency exchanges in 2017.

Manuka honey is produced by bees that forage on the nectar
of Leptospermum Scoparium, or New Zealands Manuka bush, as
well as tea trees, native to Australia and New Zealand only. This
remarkable type of honey not only effectively kills bacteria, but
none of the bugs killed by it have been able to build up immunity.
[]

01:29

The Weekly Times - TWT - is a campaigning, crusading,
truth-seeking, death defying, Aussie battler-aligned,
one-eyed-Tiger-led news organisation dedicated to Sydney's north
west. This flip book - or digital edition/replica - is the 16th
January 2019 edition of TWT. #TWT160119

Friday, 18 January

21:03

The year 2019 had barely begun before news emerged that six
Russian sailors were kidnapped by pirates off the coast of
Benin. It was perhaps a foretaste of risks to come. As nations reel
from deteriorating economic conditions, instances of piracy and
other forms of supply chain disruptions are bound to increase.

According to the International
Maritime Bureau (IMB), 107 cases of piracy were noted during
the first half of 2018 vis--vis 87 throughout 2017.
The 2018 tally included 32 cases in Southeast Asian waters
and 48 along African shores representing 75% of the total. To put
this figure into perspective, Asian behemoths India and China
despite their vast shorelines recorded only 2 cases of piracy each
during the study period. Russia had none. In terms of hostages
taken, the IMB tally read 102 in H1 2018 vs 63 in H1 2017.

Piracy adds to shipping and retail costs worldwide as security,
insurance and salaries are hiked to match associated risks in
maritime transport. Merchant vessels will also take longer and
costlier routes to avoid piracy hotspots.

As over 90% of global trade is carried out by sea, the economic
effects of maritime crime can be crippling. Maritime crime includes
not only criminal activity directed at vessels or maritime
structures, but also the use of the high seas to perpetrate
transnational organized crimes such as smuggling of persons or
illicit substances. These forms of maritime crime can have
devastating human consequences.

Indeed, cases of human trafficking, organ harvesting, and the
smuggling of illicit substances and counterfeit goods are
proliferating worldwide in tandem with rising systemic debt and
suspect international agendas.

Australia offers a case in point. While it fantasizes over a
Quad of allies in the Indo-Pacific to save Asians from China
criminal elements from Hong Kong, Malaysia to squeaky-clean
Singapore have been routinely trafficking drugs,
tobacco and people right into Sydney harbour for years,
swelling the local organised crime economy to as much as
$47.4 billion (Australian dollars presumably) between 2016 and
2017.

18:48

The United Kingdom and Europe are entering uncharted
waters with the impending Brexit. Ilan Salbe suggests everyone take
a breath, and have a rethink.

There needs to be a peoples vote on Brexit, one deciding between
(1) remaining, (2) a no deal exit, and (3) the proposal that will
emerge from the negotiations on the framework for a future
relationship.

Keeping the three options alive respects the will of the people
expressed in the 2016 referendum, acknowledges the irrational mess
of where Brexit presently sits and still provides the opportunity
for government to bed down a future relationship proposal.

A fly in the ointment is how to delay any irreversible decision
on Brexit for the two years it will take for the future
relationship negotiations to come to fruition. A solution possibly
lies in either exploiting the recent European Court of Justices
Article 50 ruling or with EU co-operation on a redraft of Article
50.

A short rehash of the Brexit process is a prerequisite to
expanding on the flaws in the logic of its architecture and how
they can be repaired.

Withdrawing from the EU is a muddled bureaucratic process. Its a
reflection of the nature of the institutions involved and that
theres been no prior experience to learn from. When Theresa May
notified the EU on 29 March 2017 that the UK wanted to exit under
the terms of Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union it was a
first for the EU.

Article 50 requires the drawing up of a withdrawal agreement
that, critically in this context, needs to give regard to a future
relationship framework. It also requires withdrawal to happen two
years after notification of an intent to exit or earlier if an
agreement is signed-off.

The wheels of the UK government and the EU have turned and two
documents produced to satisfy the requirements of Article 50.

The first, ticked-off on the 14 November 2018 by UK and EU
negotiators, was a weighty 585-page draft withdrawal agreement that
will come into force if approved by the UK parliament.

The second, agreed on the 22 November 2018, was the companion
political declaration on the formulation of a future relationship.
In a less weighty 26 pages, it spells out broadly agreed aims in
the areas of a hard border on the island of Ireland, trade in goods
and services including tariffs and a single customs territory,
workings of financial markets, mobility of people and a fair bit
more.

The release of the withdrawal agreement and political
declaration had bared the Brexit devil in the detail. Precious
little time, just 127 days before the Article 50 two-year deadline
would be reached, was given for the parliamentarians to absorb it
all and decide what to do about it.

17:37

The poet Mary Oliver died yesterday, aged 83. Ive only blogged
about one of her books, here, and didnt say much about it. But
every time Ive read one of her poems in a book lying around in a
Continue
reading

17:07

Here is an idea for how the ABC might deal with the inevitable
round of cuts next Budget.

Clever bureaucrats when faced with funding cuts go for the
jugular. They attack some popular vote-sensitive function and
announce it will be cut. The backlash often results in a funding
rethink.

The ABC has lost $330 million in annual funding in the eight
years to 2018, about a third of its 2010 budget.

In 2017-18 it was down to $865 million or just 9.5 cents per
person per day, down from 19 cents a day in 1987.

If you convert the figures to 1987 dollars you get the famous 8
cents a day of the 1987 campaign compared to 4 cents a day (in 1987
dollar terms) today.

In short, the ABC has lost half its funding over the past 30
years. Small wonder it is full of cheap panel and cooking shows and
overseas drama series.

Nonetheless, it does a pretty good job.

As my mother said to me years ago in her nursing home communal
lounge where the TV was locked permanently on to a commercial
channel: Crispin, can you imagine life without the ABC!

Most of the funding cuts were accommodated through efficiencies,
but now all fat, duplication and waste is gone. Any more cuts will
have to go to core production.

So here is the big idea. Instead of salami slicing and hurting
every area of ABC endeavour, why not go for the jugular. The ABC
should announce that it is ending all coverage of sport.

The savings would go to meeting the cut first and any left over
go to Australian drama and documentaries. SBS should do the
same.

The screams from the politicians, particularly the Coalition
ones, would be loud indeed. But the ABC could quite reasonably
argue that conservative commentators have long called for the ABC
not to replicate what the commercials can do.

Of course, that commentary has been directed at news and current
affairs, but the fact is the commercials do not do news and current
affairs the way the ABC and SBS do concentrating on news of
consequence; investigating matters of public importance and
exposing malfeasance.

However, the ABC sports coverage is little different from the
commercial coverage. Further, sport is a spectacle and a result.
Bias and error are rare and quickly correctable, unlike political
coverage.

Further, there is little of public importance in sport. It does
not matter one whit whether NSW or Queensland wins the State of
Origin or whether Australia o...

17:01

The Minister for Indigenous Affairs has recently shared that the
Commonwealth Government has allocated $134M of funding into
Indigenous suicide prevention. If you look at the current suicide
statistics this crudely translates to $248,000 per suicide death
annually - without adding State funding into the mix. We have
enormous amounts of funding injected into this critical area; yet,
suicides continue ...

17:00

EXCLUSIVE: A woman who mocks the poor and thought the elderly
man near the escalators was in the way, so called the police. A
middle-aged man who works for a global management consulting firm
and self-identifies as "politically incorrect" but nevertheless
believed there was a "crazy Asian guy" nearby, and so he wrote
about it to police over social media.

17:00

Welcome to The Weekend Quiz. The quiz tests
whether you have been paying attention or not to the blog posts
that I post. See how you go with the following questions. Your
results are only known to you and no records are retained.

1. If economy-wide average nominal
wages fail to keep pace with the inflation rate then it means the
owners of capital are enjoying an increasing share in GDP.

TrueFalse

2. Assume that a nation is
continuously running an external deficit of 2 per cent of GDP. In
this economy, if the private domestic sector successfully saves
overall, we would always find:

Unable to determine because we don't know
the scale of the private domestic sector saving as a % of
GDP.A fiscal surplusA fiscal deficit

3.
Assume that the inflation and nominal interest rates both zero and
constant. Consider a country with a public debt to GDP ratio of 100
per cent, which the mainstream economists consider to be
dangerously high. The mainstream prescription is to run primary
fiscal surpluses to stabilise and then reduce the debt ratio. Under
the circumstances given, this stra...

16:35

In a KLAS-TV news report, on 25 July 2018, journalists George Knapp
and Matt Adams published a list of the 38 DIRDs generated under a
contract with the Defense Intelligence Agency, for the Advanced
Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP.) Although the
source of the list was never revealed, former program manager, Luis
Elizondo, confirmed that the list was genuine.

16:14

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) released
an interim decision last year that would see amyl nitrite and
other alkyl nitrite inhalants banned. This means these substances
popularly referred to as poppers would be moved into schedule 9 of
the Poisons Standard along with drugs like heroin. The use of
nitrite inhalants is popular amongst gay and bisexual

15:00

The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission announced at the end
of October that it was launching an investigation into the use of
strip searches by NSW police. The inquiry is in response to growing
allegations that officers are abusing their powers. This was
against a backdrop of a growing awareness that strip search use is
increasing in

14:43

At the start of every year, new state and federal laws come into
effect across the nation. This year, babies, students, migrants,
politicians and credit card users are amongst those most affected
by laws which came into effect earlier this month. Heres a quick
rundown of the new laws. Foreign political donations New laws
have

14:00

Last year, 69 women were killed violently across Australia.
This brings the murdered women death toll in this country since
2012 to 506, according to Counting the Dead Women Australia
project researchers from gender equality group Destroy the
Joint. And in the overwhelming majority of these cases, the
perpetrators were men who were known to their victims. The

13:58

A Queensland choir is using music therapy to unlock language
problems and in turn, help sufferers learn to speak again after a
brain injury.A person with Aphasia loses the ability to speak
following a brain injury like a stroke, but the music therapy
bypasses the injured brain cells using rhythm and memory to prompt
the words.

Band manager Peter Stuart has mild aphasia and said it sometimes
feels like the word he wants to say is on "the tip of his tongue"
but he just cannot get it out.

13:52

Hospital wards around Orange
will have seven new staff working through them from the end of next
week helping people in their darkest hours. However, these
staff members arent medical professionals theyre cleaners and
footballers and teachers and everything in between but theyre all
people who have been through their darkest hours and no want to
help others avoid the same fate.

The seven new workers are part of a new Mission
Australia program to help alleviate the stigma and trauma from
mental illness at Bloomfield by having people who have lived
experience either themselves or from close family members
dealing and coping with mental health.

13:35

1788 - The first English settlers arrived in Australia's Botany Bay
to establish a penal colony. They found the location unsuitable and
Capt. Arthur Philip moved on to Sydney Cove. England sent the first
sheep along with convicts to Australia.
Yep, somewhere between today and the 20th them wot wasn't invited
rocked up and crashed the party.
NOT on the 'precious' 26th.

1794 - Members of the NSW Corps rioted on Norfolk Island following
a play held for the Queen's Birthday.

1815 - A residential school for Aboriginal children was opened at
Parramatta with six boys
and six girls.

1816 - The ship Fanny arrived at Port Jackson with 171 convicts and
news of the Battle of Waterloo.

1818 - The Great Western Road between Parramatta and Emu Ford
(Plains) opened.

1825 - Hume and Hovell returned from their successful exploration
overland to Port Phillip.

1830 - James, James, Morrison, Morrison commonly known as Jim...er,
James Knight got hitched to 'is swee'heart called May Smith, going
down in Oz History as the first married Europeans in the Colony of
Westralia.
Aww, bless.
With or without the golden gown at the other end of the town.

1849 - Australia's first Prime Minister, Edmund Barton, was dropped
off by the stork in Glebe, Sydney.

1851 - The Union Bank of Australia opened in Lyttelton,
NZ.

1863 -The Sydney to Parramatta railway extended to Penrith.

1878 - Get your backs into it boys! The Ghan Railway construction
was begun.

1883 - William Burns was Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of
Henry Loton at sea.

1901 - Jimmy Governor was Hanged at Darlinghurst Gaol for the
murder of Helen Josephine Kerz at Breelong, on 20 July 1900. In the
same incident he and Jackie Underwood also killed Mrs. Sarah
Mawbey, Grace Mawbey, Percival Mawbey and Hilda Mawbey. Jimmy and
his brother Joe also killed Alexander McKay near Ulan on 23 July,
Elizabeth O'Brien and her baby son at Poggie, near Merriwa, on 24
July, and Keiran Fitzpatrick near Wollar, on 26 July.

1911 - A worldwide competition to design the national capital was
announced.

1933 - The Aussie Cricket Board of Control was feeling slightly out
of spin when they cabled the MCC to protest at the unsportsmanlike
head-hunting bodyline bowling that "was likely to upset friendly
relations existing between Australia and England".

The current record-breaking heatwave
is a preview of more frequent and more extreme temperatures
expected due to climate change and a wake up call for urgent
action. It is melting our roads and buckling train tracks, changing
our weather patterns and putting pressure on nature and
agriculture. The increase in heatwaves alone will literally kill
more of us.

Buckingham has said that the
heatwave and other extreme weather events are sending a clear
message that we need urgently mobilise for climate
action.

The coming years are critical in the
fight to protect the people we love and our planet from dangerous
climate change, he said.

Climate and energy policy will be at
the top of the NSW state election agenda, including in many
regional seats where farmers are seeing first-hand the impacts of
climate change on the land and are frustrated the Nationals have
failed to do something about it.

The next NSW government can either
fiddle while the climate heats beyond our control, or they can
transform our community, economy and natural world by phasing out
coal and powering our world by 100 per cent renewable
energy.

This transformation will bring with
it great opportunities for new jobs and innovative technologies
across the state. Australia can transition away from being a quarry
and lead the way on renewable innovation, exporting our science,
know-how and clean solar power to the world.

12:01

If it's one thing that gets our stomachs excited it is the
thought of a restaurant hiding up a flight of stairs and serving up
Thai food unlike most places in Sydney. Chaao Thai Siam ticks all
those shiny, happy boxes. Walking through a Thai sweets shop,
narrow and stacked high with plastic tubs of mango sticky rice and
fire laden Thai dips, could be enough to get us excited.
Heading

11:56

Environmental groups, including The Wilderness
Society, are saying the new NSW Regional Forest Agreements (RFAs)
will drive more native species to extinction and ensure the
collapse of NSW forests.

This follows briefings between Commonwealth and NSW
governments. The group is claiming that the Commonwealth have
accepted at face value the assurances given by NSW in relation to
protecting threatened species when they should be ensuring no more
species become extinct.

The process is completely broken, said Peter
Robertson of The Wilderness Society.

Were in a terrible new reality where no-one is taking
responsibility for our natural heritage and theyre passing the buck
between each other. The RFAs are, pure and simple, a licence to
destroy our forests with impunity. We urgently need better laws
that can protect nature.

The group, that also includes the National Parks
Association of NSW, North East Forest Alliance (NEFA), the North
Coast Environment Council and the South East Regional Conservation
Alliance, are also saying that the Commonwealth government has
failed to challenge NSW on cherry picking research in regards the
impact of logging on carbon stores despite its own documents
stating that logging reduces the carbon stores of forests.

Dr Oisn Sweeney, Senior Ecologist with the National
Parks Association of NSW said, Its painfully clear that no concrete
data was used to assess the impacts of the last 20 years of logging
before committing to another 20. There has been a complete failure
on the part of the Commonwealth to discharge its duty to protect
matters of national environmental significance. That is simply
inexcusable.

The next Murray-Darling

They point out that the lack of accountability of
governments, and their overriding drive to maintain wood supply to
industry, makes a MurrayDarling Basin scenario of ecosystem
collapse almost inevitable for NSW forests.

The unfolding ecological catastrophe we are
witnessing right now in the Murray-Darling shows what happens when
the Commonwealth fails to hold the states accountable and step in
to protect the public interest, said Susie Russell of the North
Coast Environment Council.

11:46

Around 350 immigration detainees are into their fifth day of
hunger strike protest at Yongah Hill detention centre.

A list of demands was released by the Yongah Hill protesters on
Monday, 14 January (see below).

The detainees will hold a protest in the yard of Hawke and
Falcon compounds at 11.30am Perth time. The protesters have asked
the media to come to Yongah Hill to see the protest and talk to the
detainees themselves.

We want to show the media that Border Force is lying when they
say there is no protest at Yongah Hill. We have been asking Border
Force why we have been detained so long; what is happening to our
cases, but they have no answers, one detainee told the Refugee
Action Coalition.

A room search conducted this morning at 7.00am Perth time was
just another way to try and intimidate the protesters.

The hunger strike protests last week at the MITA North and now
at Yongah Hill have exposed the conditions inside the onshore
detention system, and the routine abuses arbitrary arrest and
punishment, use of handcuffs, lockdowns, assault that detainees are
exposed to.

The government has tried to maintain a wall of silence around
the onshore regime. There is no independent oversight of onshore
immigration detention. Border Force and Serco guards act with
impunity, said Ian Rintoul , spokesperson for the Refugee Action
Coalition.

There are fundamental injustices associated with the use of
immigration detention and Ministerial power that have to be
addressed. Ministerial power to over-ride court decisions are a
denial of natural justice and would not be acceptable in the
criminal justice system. Border Force and the Minister are laws
unto themselves.

11:02

LIFEGUARDS will extend their beach patrol hours today (Friday
January 18), to provide swimmers additional time to cool off
safely.

Hours at 9 of Wollongongs 17 patrolled beaches will be
increased, with flags up until 7pm at Stanwell Park, Austinmer,
Thirroul, Bulli and Corrimal. The flags will go down at Sandon
Point at 6pm.

Wollongong Councils Beach Services Manager, Paul Dreghorn said
while the Illawarra has escaped the worst of the heatwave
conditions in comparison with the rest of the state, the region
remains hot and lifeguards will work extra hours to enable people
cool off safely in the surf.

Thats why weve asked our lifeguards to remain on duty beyond the
usual flags down time to give people the chance for a swim, he
said.

We just ask people to visit one of the nine beaches with
additional hours and to remember if there are no flags up, then
theres no swim.

The beaches with additional hours are:

Stanwell Park to 7pm

Austinmer to 7pm

Thirroul to 7pm

Bulli to 7pm

Corrimal to 7pm

Nth Gong to 7pm

City Beach to 7pm

Pt Kembla to 7pm

Sandon Point to 6pm

10:39

Real estate cycle expert Bryan Kavanagh says turnover and price
declines in Sydney and Melbourne during 2018 indicate an economic
recession in the 2019-20 financial year. The 2018 Kavanagh-Putland
Index, released today, shows the total value of Australian real
estate sales to GDP. Mr Kavanagh said the $50 billion pumped into
markets by the Rudd-Swan []

10:00

09:33

Donald Trump may be a terrible president and an even
worse human. But you have to hand it to him on the payback front.
Chris Graham reports.

As the partial US Government shutdown enters its fourth week a
consequence of Trump refusing to sign spending bills until the
Democrats give him $5 billion to build his wall across the Mexican
border the Democrats have been holding fast, and looking for ways
to frustrate the worlds most powerful man.

Enter Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House of Congress, a
Democrat, and the most powerful woman in the American political
system.

Two days ago, Pelosi used her powers to cancel Trumps scheduled
State of the Union address to Congress, the presidents annual
address where he outlines his achievements and his future
plans.

Pelosi said the Trump-engineered partial government shutdown
which has led to more than 800,000 government workers being
furloughed indefinitely means that security at Congress was
stretched, and the safety of the president couldnt be
guaranteed.

So she cancelled his speech, the first time in US history a
sitting president has been prevented from delivering the State of
the Union.

It was a shrewd move, and sparked reams of copy in American
press lauding Pelosi as finally getting the better of the
president. Even conservative Washington Post columnist Jennifer
Rubin was
celebrating the move, noting that Pelosi had worked out the
best way to deal with Trump like you would a child having a
tantrum.

Trumps response overnight, however, was you have to admit
inspired.

Pelosi had this morning been due to fly on a junket to Europe,
the Middle East and Afghanistan with a host of Democratic
colleagues to visit the troops. One problem she was planning to fly
courtesy of the United States Air Force.

Donald Trump is the Commander-in-Chief of the US military. So
Donald Trump cancelled her flight, an hour or so before it was
scheduled to leave.

A deadpan White House press secretary Sarah Sanders released
Trumps letter to Pelosi on her Twitter account.

04:59

What the Irish famine
genocide teaches us about Palestine

A few evenings ago I
watched the 2018 film, Black 47. It tells of the
Irish Famine through the story of one traumatized Irish returned
soldier. The main character, Martin Feeney (played by the young
Australian actor James Frecheville), returns to Ireland from India
(another British colony) after fighting for the Empire, only to
find the devastation brought on Ireland by the British colonizers,
enforced by the very same army he fought for.

Thursday, 17 January

21:03

In the recent autumn session of the United Nations General
Assembly a number of resolutions involving the Syrian Golan Heights
occupied by Israel came up for debate and voting. A familiar
pattern emerged. The first of the votes to be noted was UNGA
Resolution A/C.4/73/L.20. The wording of this resolution was that
the general Assembly reaffirmed that Israels settlements in the
occupied Palestinian territories including East Jerusalem are
illegal and an obstacle to peace and social development.

The second resolution, A/C.4/73/L.22 said that the General
Assembly determines that all legislation and administrative
measures taken by Israel, the occupying Power, that purport to
alter the character and legal status of the occupied Syrian Golan
Heights are null and void. The wording of this
resolution echoed the wording of United Nations Security Council
resolution 497 of 17 December 1981, which was 37 years previously.
That earlier resolution was passed unanimously; i.e. the United
States included.

The third resolution, L/73/L.30 expressed the General Assemblys
deep concern that Israel has not withdrawn from the Syrian
Golan, which has been under occupation since 1967 (i.e. 51
years).

The voting on each resolution respectively was 154 in favour
(with 6 No votes and 15 abstentions; 149: 2: and 22; and 99: 10:
66.

The United States, which was part of a unanimous Security
Council vote in 1981 condemning Israels actions in the Golan
Heights as null and void was one of the two No votes in the second
resolution referred to above. The other No vote, unsurprisingly,
was Israel. The United States and Israel both voted No to the other
two resolutions as well. Australia abstained in respect of each of
the three votes.

This voting pattern and the debate that surrounded them is
significant for a number of reasons.

The first reason is that it unequivocally demonstrates that
where Israel is concerned there is a different standard applied by
the United States (and Australia) where breaches of international
law are concerned.

It is indisputable that land occupied by conquest cannot be
returning by the occupying power, much less incorporated into the
administrative regime of the occupying power. Yet this is precisely
what Israel has done, first by maintaining its occupation post the
1967 Six Day War, and then in 1981 purporting to incorporate the
Golan Heights into its own administrative territory.

It is not difficult to envisage the rhetoric from the United
States if Russia or China had made any similar moves. One has only
to recall the incessant barrage of propaganda from the United
States and its allies about Russian aggression when Crimea was
reincorporated into the Russian Federation following an
overwhelming popular vote.

17:38

Irriti ngurra Warumpila ngayulu nyinapayi. Pulinguru walpangku
ngyunya yunpa pampunu. (A long time ago, I lived on the land of my
people, Warumpi. From the mountains, the wind would blow and caress
my face.)

17:11

Happy 2019! It is going to be a very big year for the affairs
of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and ANTaR is ready to do all we can to make sure it is
momentus for the right reasons.

Eleven years ago now, after the National Apology to the Stolen
Generations, the Rudd Government held the Australia 2020 Summit
which brought together hundreds of prominent and community
delegates to think big about what Australia could be like by 2020
and beyond.

One of the 10 key policy challenges focussed on at the
convention was Options for the Future of Indigenous Australia. The
delegates invited to think on this topic came up with 49 ideas for
government to consider implementing in order to build a reconciled,
happy and healthy Australia that celebrated its ancient history and
the abiding culture of its First Peoples.

There has been a lot of water under the bridge since the 2008
Summit and much of what was envisioned has been forgotten or pushed
away as our governments have gone through one of the most divisive
and flailing periods since Federation.

It feels like 2019 is offering a new chance for Australia to
think big about correcting the historical wrongs made against
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; to revisit our
thinking about Constitutional reform, closing the gap in health,
education, employment and housing outcomes and to place
truth-telling and reconciliation at the centre of the
national conversation.

Next month our sixth Prime Minister in 10 years will be
providing the annual Closing the Gap report with promises of a
refreshed Closing the Gap Strategy that will be designed in
partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. We
already have a Parliamentary report o...

17:06

By Ugur Nedim and Sonia Hickey Sydney lawyer Brody Clarke came
from a privileged background, benefited from a stellar education
and was employed by investment banks Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan
before turning his hand to law in his early thirties. But it all
came undone when the now 36-year old engaged in
an unsophisticated scheme

16:11

15:16

Alexis Wright,
Tracker: Stories of Tracker Tilmouth (Giramondo
2017) This is a book of yarns. Ill start this blog post with one of
them. In the mid 1990s at the Gulf of Carpentaria, Murrandoo Yanner
was involved in negotiations with Ian Williams, the general
Continue reading

14:08

National Native Title Tribunal File QC2018/005 available
here entered on the
Register 9/11/2018.

The attachments are as follows :-
Register extract available here
Attachment B - Map showing Boundaries of the Area Covered
by the Application here
Attachment C - Map of the Claim Area here

The claim area is roughly west of the Hann Tableland National
Park.

The Djungan People native title claim group is comprised of the
descendants (including through adoption or raising up in accordance
with traditional laws and customs) of the following apical
ancestors:

12:25

Romaan successfully halted coal
transport to the Abbot Point Coal Terminal from a treesit 20 meters
off the ground. Photo supplied.

Keeping the pressure against
theproposedAdani
Carmichael coal mine in the Galilee Basin 25 year old Romaan halted
coal transport to the Abbot Point Coal Terminal from a treesit 20
meters off the ground attached to the Newlands Rail
line.

Adani has declared that it is ready
to start work on the proposed mine once given the go-ahead by the
Queensland government. The international conglomerate is still
waiting on two approvals from the state government relating to
their ground water management plan and the preservation of the
ecosystem of the endangered Black-throated Finch.

Romaans protest is the second of its
kind this year and one of a long series of nationwide
demonstrations against the proposed mine. These actions are in
response to growing concern about the impacts that the proposed
coal mine will have on the regions environment and the climate of
the globe.

I felt inspired by the students who
put their lives on hold during the School Strike for Climate to
make the government listen to their concerns for the state of the
climate and its implications for our future, said Romaan

The fact that our government is not
taking the threat of climate change and resulting climate
catastrophe seriously is deeply disturbing. We cannot allow the
greed of a small minority jeopardise the livelihood of the whole
planet. We, the people, need to stand up in community and take
action into our own hands.

It is possible for humankind to
become carbon-neutral in this lifetime and that is what we have to
aim for if we intend to preserve our planet and all life on
it. The building of the Carmichael mine will open up the
potential for seven more coal mines in the Galilee Basin,
effectively ending our chances at carbon neutrality. This is
madness given the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) 2018 report, states that we now have less than 12 years to
to act on climate change to keep the increase of average global
temperature within 1.5C and avoid extreme heat, drought, sea level
rise and food scarcity. Even if the temperature rises 1.5C this
still has major implicati...

11:34

Have you ever
wondered what will happen if the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts?
Think about it. What would you do? Where would you go? Is your
family prepared? What about your pets?

A new mini-documentary film posted to the Team Life
Hack Youtube channel on Sunday titled Yellowstone Volcano Eruption Where to Find
Safety? reveals the brash reality of just how unprepared
Americans really are for such an event. Keep in mind, if
Yellowstone were to erupt the massive explosion would mark its
fourth major eruption throughout earths history. Scientists believe
the last eruption took place about 640,000 years ago which goes to
show how the caldera is somewhat overdue for another.

As I have reported in the past, contracts between the U.S.
government and other world governments to house a displaced
citizenry already exist and total tens of billions of
dollars. After all, why would the U.S. government
solicit and pay other countries tens of billions of dollars per
year for an entire decade to house displaced U.S. citizens
specifically between the years 2014 and 2024 unless officials know
for sure that some type of major disaster or possibly even an
extinction level event was going to occur within that specific
ten-year timeframe? Do you see? Thus within itself shows how
officials likely know more then they are telling the general
public at this time and so the question remains: Would the U.S.
government warn the general public in advance? If so, how many
months, weeks, days, hours, or minutes in advance would the
citizenry receive such a warning? Would a warning even work or
would a warning just cause more chaos?

In the Team Life Hack video, the narrator says that he
doubts that the federal government would even tell Americans about
an upcoming eruption at all and even if they do the narrator feels
that riots could still ensue.

So what would happen?

If the eruption were to occur an unbelievable amount of ashfall
would consume the land which would likely cause a nuclear
winter-type scenario and make it extremely hard if not impossible
for crops to grow and would ultimately cause loss of both
human and animal life. The stock market would crash and money would
become worthless. Hundreds of thousands of people would likely die
as forecast by the
Dea...

Welcome to the first newsletter for 2019. I started these
newsletters in 2012 when the mainstream Australian media started
presenting false and misleading information about my university
research to the public. This was a result of the Australian Skeptics Inc lobby groups and their
offshoot SAVN and the Friends of Science in Medicine deceptively
named well-funded lobby groups that are promoting pharmas interests
in government vaccination policies (astroturfing).

If this wasnt the case in Australia then the government would
not need to suppress my academic research from public debates and
discussion and from court cases on vaccination. For those of you
who have missed this suppression here is the conference that was
held on the 30 June 2018 in Sydney titled The Censorship of the Vaccination
Debate in Australia.

11:00

Burning Spear News Xolobeni stands as one of few liberated
African territories standing against the mining of their mineral
resources. Members of the Amadiba Crisis Committee (ACC) vow to
never stop fighting against mining This article is based on the
ongoing struggle in the Eastern Cape where our people are fighting
a company from Australia,...

10:39

By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim High Court Justice Virginia Bell
ended 2018 on an incendiary note, when she publicly implied that
some sentences being handed down are clearly too light, and the
Crown should be appealing them rather than exercising the restraint
that has been applied over recent decades. The comments were made
during

Considering what they are doing to me- and esp. what they did to
Vaughn Gross who put a gun in his mouth this past Christmas- it is
my opinion there is more going on in this town that what people
know.

What happened to Vaughn was wrong. What is happening to me is
wrong as well. But Vaughns experience tells me there is some sort
of weird land grab going on.

The city clerk has lived here for three years- yet few in this
town of 300 know who she is. However- as I have said- she
befriended me even before I left Seattle last January.

My question is why.

As Ive said- the city council approved of my dogs last January-
but eight months after they tried to convict me of a crime for
having them- despite the fact that a business owner in town ALSO
has a pit mix that bit a neighbors dog- requiring the injured dog
to require twelve stiches- and yet he has not been required to get
rid of his dog.

In fact he STILL isnt having any issues. So I guess the towns
ordinances only apply to those the city council wants to
target.

Although, of course, Vaughn Gross didnt have a dog. Just a house
they seemed to want.

Considering I was fighting against Nazis in Washington State-
which is why I moved- and Iowa just reelected a white supremist
(Steve King) in SW Iowa- which is where Earling is located- it isnt
a huge leap to think it may all be connected in some way to some
sort of weird Nazi agenda.

At least in the way of their tactics anyway.

Just how this is all connected I am unsure of. However- if this
all continues- something tells me it wont stop with me.

And they have already pushed a man to commit suicide.

I, however, will NEVER hurt myself but will fight until I am no
longer able. And exposing this is something I am compelled to
do.

And this type of situation is not new to me. Here is the type of
stuff I have dealt with in the past

10:11

January 17, 2019: While the TPP-11 came into force on
December 30, 2018, with six of the eleven signatories ratifying,
the new Malaysian government has not ratified the TPP-11 and is
seriously reviewing their entire approach to trade and investment
agreements.

A key economic adviser to the new government, Jomo
Kwame Sundaram, wrote on
January 8 that the rebadged Comprehensive Progressive
Trans-Pacific Partnership had much more to do with US geopolitical
goals than improving trade, and that as TPP-11 the possible
economic gains from it are really derisory.

Some minor changes were made to the TPP agreement
for the CPTPP. Several onerous provisions were amended, and some
others suspended, leaving most unchanged. Only a few CPTPP
governments secured side letters, exempting them from some specific
clauses.

Thus, most onerous TPP provisions remain. The CPTPP
has committed Malaysia to further trade liberalization,
accelerating deindustrialization, besides constraining the growth
of modern services, development finance and policy space.

Jomo called for a turn away from bilateral and regional free
trade agreements, towards a revival of the multilateral World Trade
Organisation. At the national level, developing country governments
should amend legislation and policy in line with their needs,
especially for development, not at the behest of corporate
lobbyists or geostrategic priorities, he concluded.

10:00

As I head to Adelaide for the fifth time to continue filming my
documentary, and to deal with Family Court criminality, I reflect
on parallels of the hit TV series, HANDMAIDS TALE. I am hoping many
readers have seen it. (It was on SBS once.)

Based on Margaret Atwoods best-selling novel, it is essentially
a view into the totalitarian society of Gilead, where handmaidens
are enslaved to produce children for the elites. Their children are
then removed from them so that elite couples (who have become
sterile) have a chance of mother and father...

09:33

I like this recipe for a summer salad that also tastes good in
stir-fries and soups

Take six of the Lebanese variety or around three of larger
varieties, score their outsides with a fork and then cut in half or
quarters (original recipe says to scoop out seeds but it seems a
waste of water), then marinate for at least an hour with red onion
(and chopped chillis if you're inclined) in a quarter cup of white
vinegar with a tablespoon each of sugar and sweet chilli sauce.

08:31

The saga of
Opal Tower, the 36-storey Sydney apartment building evacuated
on Christmas Eve after frightening cracking, has helped to expose
the deep cracks in Australias approach to building apartments.

The big lesson from Opal Tower is that badly built apartments
arent only an issue for residents